Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian drones shot down over occupied Crimea, Russia says; Moscow using North Korean missiles, US says – as it happened | World news

Russia says it air defences downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday as Kyiv continued its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula, the Associated Press reports.

Air raid sirens were heard in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second day on a bridge connecting the peninsula – which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago – with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The bridge is a crucial supply link for Russia’s war effort.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces intercepted 36 drones over Crimea and one over Krasnodar. A Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile was also destroyed over the north-western part of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

The developments came after three people were injured on Thursday night by other Ukrainian rocket and drone attacks on the Russian border city of Belgorod and the surrounding region, said the Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pledged to strike more targets on the Crimean Peninsula and inside Russian border regions this year.

• Grant Shapps, the British secretary of state for defence, said today that “together with our partners we’ll make sure North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia.”

• The comments came after the White House said on Thursday it had information indicating that North Korea recently provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles.

• Micheál Martin, Ireland’s foreign minister, said that the international community must “remain firm in its resolve to support” Ukraine.

• Ukraine said it caused “serious damage” to Russia’s defence systems on the Crimean peninsula during an attack on a military command post there on Thursday.

• Russia said it air defences downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia.

• Ukraine’s air force said its forces shot down 21 out of 29 Shahed drones launched by Russia.

• A British defence intelligence update on Ukraine noted that “over the last week, ground combat has continued to be characterised by either a static frontline or very gradual, local Russian advances in key sectors”.

• Germany delivered more air defence for Ukraine, as well as ammunition and infantry fighting vehicles.

• Nepal decided to stop issuing permits for its citizens to work in Russia and Ukraine.

• 2,000 trucks were waiting on the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to the Ukrainian border guard service.

“Ukraine and Norway will promote defence industry cooperation,” Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said following a call with his Norwegian counterpart.

Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said “we are not happy to hear just ‘deep concerns’ after massive missile attacks on our peaceful cities”.

“What we really need is more firm timely decisions to back our fight,” she said.

A group of 125 Ukrainian refugees has been evacuated from a hotel due to high water in the Netherlands.

Although a recent “room for the river” project, a €2.3bn plan to give back room to floodplains for rivers, is credited with avoiding disaster following recent rainfall, some areas of the Netherlands have had to employ sandbags to keep out the high water and the country is on alert.

Here are the latest images coming in from Kyiv.

Grant Shapps, the British secretary of state for defence, said today that “the world has turned its back on Russia, forcing Putin into the humiliation of going cap in hand to North Korea to keep his illegal invasion going”.

He added:

In doing so Russia has broken multiple UNSC resolutions and put the security of another world region at risk. This must stop now. Together with our partners we’ll make sure North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia.

Micheál Martin, Ireland’s foreign minister, said today that the international community must “remain firm in its resolve to support” Ukraine.

Four people were injured in Russian shelling in the Kherson region, Ukrinform reports.

The mayor of Lviv has shared photos of equipment sent to help Ukrainian troops.

Russia says it air defences downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday as Kyiv continued its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula, the Associated Press reports.

Air raid sirens were heard in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second day on a bridge connecting the peninsula – which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago – with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The bridge is a crucial supply link for Russia’s war effort.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces intercepted 36 drones over Crimea and one over Krasnodar. A Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile was also destroyed over the north-western part of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

The developments came after three people were injured on Thursday night by other Ukrainian rocket and drone attacks on the Russian border city of Belgorod and the surrounding region, said the Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pledged to strike more targets on the Crimean Peninsula and inside Russian border regions this year.